Fishermen write to Krishna,want Pak to free their boats

Ahead of his visit to Pakistan,the National Fishworkers Forum and representatives of the local fishing community have petitioned External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to pressurise Islamabad to release an estimated 627 Indian fishing boats that currently stand confiscated by Pakistani authorities.

Ahead of his visit to Pakistan,the National Fishworkers Forum and representatives of the local fishing community have petitioned External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to pressurise Islamabad to release an estimated 627 Indian fishing boats that currently stand confiscated by Pakistani authorities.

Representatives of those who have had their boats confiscated say while fishermen who venture into Pakistani territorial waters for a better catch (the Indus Delta is a known fish-breeding area and provides a good catch) are released from time to time,but their boats are not. This causes a lot of hardship not just because their source of livelihoods are lost but also because boat owners usually still have huge mortgage amounts to pay.

One boat takes care of the livelihood of about 100 fishworkers, the forum said in a letter to Krishna on Monday.